Delivered by Ingenta IP : 94.67.166.95 On: Thu, 17 Oct 2019 07:25:18 Copyright The Policy Press ‘This is a cage for migrants’ at a one-day conference in April 2014 in Athens, introduced these radical approaches to a Greek audience with the participation of a refugee on the panel. In parallel, as Ioakimidis et al (2014) claim, a ‘process of reconceptualisation’ of social work has started in Greece, Portugal and Spain, where signs of politicisation and resistance have appeared. For example, in 2012, the Interior Minister, acting on a parliamentary question from Golden Dawn, demanded all public day nurseries to provide information about immigrant children. However, the reaction of social workers and day nursery teachers to such a racist demand was denial and disobedience (POE-OTA, 2012). Moreover, after the 2013 elections to SKLE, the pressure for a more progressive SKLE – as opposed to its historically conservative role (Ioakimidis, 2011) – resulted in the election of a new radical platform instead of the traditional ‘single list’ consensus (Ioakimids et al, 2014: 295). This change was reflected in more politicised actions on the part of SKLE, such as participation in strikes and demonstrations against austerity measures.As regards racism, for the first time in its history, SKLE has officially participated in anti-racist demonstrations and also released a press statement against the racist attacks on migrant farm workers in Manolada (SKLE, 2014a). At the academic level, critical and radical approaches have gradually made their appearance in Greece. A significant contribution in this direction was the first book published on critical and radical social work in Greece by Ioakimidis (2012), which brought together practitioners and academics from both Greece and Britain. Other publications by Ioakimidis (2008, 2011), Ioakimidis and Teloni (2013), Ioakimidis et al (2014) and Teloni (2011a, 2011b) have contributed to the emergence of radical approaches in the Greek context. More recently, references to radical and critical social work by academics such as Asimopoulos (2012), Dedotsi et al (2015), and Poulopoulos (2014) have contributed significantly in the field. Last but not least, Chris Jones (Jones and Chalalet, 2014) – one of the main authors of the Social Work Manifesto and a well-known academic in radical social work and policy analysis – regularly blogs on the inhuman conditions for immigrants in Greece and is making a significant contribution to spreading awareness and issuing calls for action. In total, there are signs that the politicisation and, in some cases, radicalisation of social work will gradually flourish in the Greek context. Yet, much remains to be done to achieve a type of social work that is true to its humanitarian mission, acts collectively and intervenes in the social sphere, reclaiming its social and political role. Conclusion National and EU anti-immigration policies in synergy with the media constituted a dangerous amalgam that promoted the rise of racism and fascism in the Greek context. National policies in Greece are the application of EU policies, which are mainly suppressive and involve a systematic violation of human rights. On the other hand, the EU hypocritically condemns Greece for violations of human rights although the suppressive policies could not have been applied without the EU’s funding and constitutional context. At the national level, both government and the media constructed an image of an immigrant threat to the security of Greece’s citizens, which in turn facilitated the growth of racist attacks and fascism. In recent 201